Safety lamp guard



May 8, 1934. D. c. WILSON SAFETY LAMP GUARD Filed June 10 INVENTOR Don C. Wilson ATTORNEYS ill 'and

Patented May S, 1934 UNITED I STATES SAFETY LAMP GUARD Don C. Wilson, Longvicw, N. J.

, My invention relates to guards for safety lamps,

and particularly to safety lamps of the portable type, and same has for one of its objects the provision of a guard for a lamp of the character described which is of light, yet'very strong and durable construction.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a device of the character described, composed entirely of materials of insulating character, except for the means employed to fasten the component parts into a unitary whole.

A further object of my invention is the provision, in a device of the character described, of means by which the same may be suspended, said means being swivelled, and providing a braking or retarding action against too-free turning movement.

A further object sion, in a device of means to removably secure the lamp guard to the handle. Y

A further object of the invention consists in providing a cage made of slats secured together in pairs, giving a'strong construction and facilitating the assembly of the device.

Electrical installations and wiring are very of my invention is the provioften located in out-oi-the-way and inconven-.

iently accessible locations, and whenever inspections thereof or repairs thereto have to be made, adequate lighting facilities are rarely possible. The source of light, usually an electric light bulb, ,zmust be shielded from injury, and said shield must be of such character as not to cause short circuiting of any live wires, in the electrical equipment or apparatus, or transmit any shock to the user.

Further objects'of my invention will in part be apparent from the following description and in part will bepointed out.

part hereof,

.Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of device constructed according to and embodying my invention; I Fig. 2 is a longitudinal-section therethrough;

3 is a section through line 3-30! Fig. 2;

,Fig. 4 is an enlarged "time" view of the butt end of the guardcage and the head of the handle member.

Reference character 10 designates the handle which is molded or otherwise formed of rubber, or similarly flexible insulating material. The handle is rounded to provide a convenient gripping surface;

the character described,- of Y 4 sulatin'g material.

' to the head of cage be fastened to the cage In the drawing annexed hereto and I madea engaged and locked threaded upon the end of stem 42 in such manner but same is not otunliorm.

Application June 10, 1933, Serial No. 875,197 3 Claims. (01. 240-54) girth throughout its length, being -enlarged at heel 12 and head. 14. The handle is centrally cored, hole 16 passing entirely therethrough, being of uniform size throughout the body and heel and thereof, but said hole 16 is enlarged at'the head of the handle member toprovide a chamber 17 for the reception of an electric light bulb socket 18. A bayonet joint connection is provided to lock the socket member within seat 17, grooves 20 with lateral extensions 21 being pro- 3 vided in the walls of the seating portion to receive ears 22 on the base of the socket member, which is turned to cause ears 22 to enter the slot extensions 21 and lock the socket member within the handle head. For reception and holding of the cage or guard described below, a peripheral groove 24 is formed on the outer circumference of the handle head 14, spaced from the end 25 thereof; portion 26, be-

tween the groove 24 and end 25, being of'lesser diameter than that of portion 14, but large enough to constitute a shoulder with respect to groove 24 (see Figs. 2 and 4).

The cage or lamp guard .member 28 is composed or slats 30 of fibrous, or other suitable in- One end of each of these slats is secured between two circular discs 32 and 34,

of material similar to that of the slats, by hollow metal rivets or eyelets 36. Discs 32 and 34 are centrally perforated at 38. A hook 40 is secured 28,-so that the lamp may be suspended when desired. The hook member-40 is cut from a fiber block or made of other insulatn ing material, and the stem 42 thereof is provided with threads at its'end 44, so that the same may between washer 46 on the outside or the cage which engages a shoulder35 on the stem 420i hook member 40, and is fitted over disc 34, and lock nuts 48 within'the cage.

Washer 46 is also of insulating material and also centrally perforated to coincidewith the perforations in discs '32 and 34, so that stem portion 42 of the hook can passtherethrough to be by nuts 48. Nuts 48 are that the hook member can swing and swivel about freely, although too free play is avoided by so adjusting the inner nut when the outer nut is tight to provide some slight retardation or braking action. Washer 46 is of such diameter as to extend over and cover the rivets or eyelets which join the strips 30 to the discs 32 and 34. The slats 30 are bowed or bent to form a cage of generally spheroidal shape and fastened in position by hoop member 50, which is a strip or material similar to slats 30 to constitute therewith a cage or guard; the said slats being immovably secured to hoop 50 by staples 52, or eyelets, similar to eyelets 36 which pass through the hoop and the slats at their points of crossing, hoop 50 being located within the cage and abutting against the inner surfaces of the slat portions 30. An even numbered plurality of slats 30, as for example eight thereof is provided and the free ends thereof are similarly fastened together in pairs by cross-strips of fibrous or other insulating material 54, located on the inner sides'of slats 30, as is hoop 50, the tip ends of slats 30 extending just beyond the strips 54, being bowed or bent out-. wardly therefrom, as shown at 62. In this way, the smallest outer circumference of the cage is just within the tips 62 about the neighborhood where the cross-strips 54 are attached.

Each of the cross-strips 54 is curved and when the ends 56 thereof approach each other they approximate a circle. The width of these strips 54 is less than that of the groove 24, into which same are adapted to be received and fit. A ring 58 of expansible material, such as rubber or the like, is provided adapted to fit over the strips and crossstrips and secure same within the groove, to thus attach the cage to the handle. This ring 58 fits over the ends of strips 30 at the point where same are stapled to the cross-strips, this being the part of the cage with the smallest outer circumference, due to the curvature of the said strips at 62, so that the staples or metal eyelets holding crossstrips 54 to slats 30 are not exposed to any possible contacts with live wires. The eyelets or rivets at the top of the cage are similarly shielded from exposure to live wires by washer 46, so'that the only metal surfaces presented by my improved construction are those of the eyelets which secure hoop 50 to the strips 30, and which may similarly secure a shielding and reflecting member 60 inside the cage proper. The metal surfaces thus presented are so small as to preclude any danger of short circuiting.

When uniting the cage to the handle, the parts are preliminarily held in the relation shown in Fig. 4, the resiliency of slats 30 keeping same apart. After cross-strips '54 and the slats 30secured thereto are manually confined within groove 24, the ring 58 is forced over head 14 and over the ends 62 of strips 30. The normal diameter of the ring 58 is sufilciently small to ensure the contraction of said ring to clamp the cage securely in place on the handle.

The reflecting and shielding member 60 is composed of a piece of fibrous material, bowed to conform substantially to the curvature of the cage and secured therewithin by the metal eyelets 52, which may serve also to unite the hoop 50 toslats 30. The inner surface of member is coated with light colored paint, or other reflecting material, so that it can be used to reflect light to a particular spot. The device is preferably supported so that member 60 shields the eyes of the user.

Among the advantages of my construction are its extreme lightness due to the light weight of the fibrous materials of which the cage is composed. The means connecting the cage components are of metal, but such metal is either covered or of too small surface area to be dangerous, thus providing a practically completely insulated construction. The device is of strong unitary character, and the rubber handle is flexible and protects the fragile bulb by cushioning the socket and bulb therewithin against shocks and breakage due to dropping of the same, or contacts with hard surfaces. By having the handle of non-conducting rubber, the lamp guard of my invention can be used freely and safely in connection with all work on or near electrical installations and the user is protected from electrical shock.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A lamp guard comprising in combination a handle having within one end a socket for a lamp bulb and provided with a circumferential groove adjacent saidend, a guard member comprising a plurality of longitudinally extended members secured together at one end thereof and having crosswise extending members secured to said longitudinal members and adapted to be received within said groove, and a. heavy elastic ring adapted to embrace said longitudinal members substantially in line with said groove.

2. A device in accordance with claim 1, in which the handle is enlarged adjacent to said groove to hold said elastic ring member substantially in line with the groove.

3. A lamp guard comprising in combination a handle having within one end a socket for a lamp bulb and provided with a circumferential groove adjacent said end, a guard member comprising a plurality of longitudinally extended members secured together at one end thereof and having crosswise extending members secured to a plurality of and at the inner sides of said longitudinal members and adapted to be received within said groove to form a collar substantially encircling said groove, and a heavy elastic ring adapted to embrace said longitudinal members substantially in line with said groove.

DON C. WILSON. 

